Sad local news, as Rockwood Filling Station has closed. They had some consistency issues over their year-and-a-half run but they were my second favorite local pizza. I give a slight edge to Backdoor. But Backdoor is take-out only so RFS was tops for dine-in pizza. It's been interesting seeing the local comments since the shut down was announced. Of course, you're never gonna see total agreement about anything, esp. a restaurant that's closed. And plenty of the things people have said spoke to the kinds of reasons why people would stop going to a resto. But it's been kinda depressing to see all the haters show up to kick the place one last time after it's gone. Oh yeah, and to remind everyone who liked it that it sucked and we all suck for having liked it. Yeah, I love the internets sometimes... I think what I mainly take away from RFS closing is how razor thin the margins are in the food biz. Even a place with a regular following and good crowds can be gone just like that.

OTOH, I hear that the space will become the Fish Shack, owned and run by the guys at the Q-Shack next door. So that's a good thing.

Also, this (which is almost as insane as the Star Wars tuna advert)

This is one of my favorite things I've seen on the internets. Ever. Seems Ole Miss is looking for a new mascot to replace their current one, a cartoon Confederated colonel. So some students have worked up a campaign in support of Admiral Ackbar. I'm sure there's almost exactly zero chance of this happening. Lucas probably doesn't have enough of a sense of humor to go for it. And I doubt the U. could afford the licensing fees either.

Also, this:

Saw this on one of the art car mailing lists (I think). Anyway, really awesome photos of a trip from Islamabad to Paris in a 1974 VW Beetle. The photos don't seem to stop before the trip did but still, way cool. It's not, you see, just any old '74 Beetle but Foxy Shahzadi, a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle painted with unique Pakistani truck art. That's their blog about the trip, which wrapped up last November. Plus the promise that more photos are forthcoming. I've still only just gotten started reading the blog.
Here's some more info on the inspiration for their VW, Pakistani truck art
And, no, I still haven't figured out how to get photos from flickr onto the blog. There's something about MT's later iterations that flickr doesn't seem to like all that much. Sarah did show me a way to get my photos posted here but that doesn't seem to work for other people's.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 21 feb 10)

Funky Fräuleins :: various
the Prester John Sessions :: Tommy T
Retrospectiva :: Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca
Para Siempre :: Miramar
I'll See You in Cuba :: Pablo Menendez & Mezcla
Bollyhood Bass :: David Starfire
Agua del Pozo :: Alex Cuba
el Arte de la Elegancia :: los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Tango :: Vayo
Watina :: Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective

this week's video feature: Alex Cuba

Back towards the end of last year, the local sports talk radio stations got synergized or mergerated or whatever. Basically, the bigger co. bought out the smaller one and they combined the two AM stations down into one. The rumor at the time was that the other AM station was gonna be sold and become a rightwing political talk station. Until that happened they were just planning to rebroadcast the FM sports talk. So I hadn't tuned in probably since sometime in December but in a fit of boredom with all other options, I scanned over last Friday to discover that they're becoming an oldies station. Right now, they're just playing music. No DJs and hardly any ads (except in AM drive time when they're still broadcasting Imus... feh!) and the bumpers say that they're auditioning over 3000 songs for the playlist. They also describe what they're playing as pop hits of the 50s and 60s. But, maybe because they're still in a testing period, I've been surprised at how wide a net they're throwing within the confines of late 20th century pop music. I've heard Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin and even Les Baxter. Also some doo wop, wall of sound, girl groups and Stax/Volt. "Leader of the Pack" and "Love Train" and "Hey Jude" also. They have gone a bit further into 70s sappy pop than I ever care to go but that's why they make it so you can change channels on your car radio. What I'm curious about is, if they end up with a 1500 song playlist, and given that I probably won't be listening every day, how long will it take before it starts to feel like I've heard everything and there's no surprises to be had. Obviously, stations playing new music get around that problem because there's always something different being added to the mix. But I know with the stations I hear at work that play oldies or classic rock there are very few moments when they drop something that surprises me in any way at all. I wonder how big the playlist for Sirius/XM stations is? Cos Sarah and I have listened for the entirety of day long road trips and barely heard any repetition at all AND had multiple occasions of hearing things that neither of us had ever heard before. Well, I guess if you're hearing 12 songs an hour, then 8 hours would still only be 96 songs so you wouldn't need that big a playlist to avoid repetition.

Here's a nice review of Tinariwen from their NYC concert. Saw them in Chapel Hill last Monday, the first night of their US tour. Amazing show. They were supposed to play at Duke last April but that show was canceled. So, yeah, I've been waiting for this concert since August 2008, when tix for the 08/09 Duke Performance season went on sale. And even with my unreasonably high expectations, I was not disappointed. Was surprised and pleased that I actually recognized a bunch of songs they played including "Tamodjerazt Assis" from the most recent CD and "Arawan" from Amassakoul. It might even be a good thing that their 2009 show here didn't happen since this time founding member Ibrahim Ag Alhabib was part of the tour. I knew he was supposed to be there but he did not come out with the rest of the band, who played a couple of numbers before he came on stage, guitar slung over his back. Definitely one of the cooler entrances and you could just tell (to paraphrase Homer Simpson) that he was gonna do something and it was gonna be really cool. And it was. Absolutely do not miss them if you have a chance.

Interesting post by Alyssa Rosenberg, one of the folks guest-blogging for Ta-Nehisi Coates this past week, all abou yiddish swing. Sarah's played some stuff from Yiddish Melodies in Swing on Divaville Lounge and I just discovered today that XDU has the comp From Avenue A to the Great White Way in our library. I love the story about Sammy Cahn discovering "Bi Mir Bist Du Schön" at the Apollo Theater and the journey the song then took.
In more local and contempo music news, one of my fellow DJs was apparently thrown out of a bar/club in downtown last night for heckling. Srsly. I mean, I wasn't there so I only know what happened from accounts on Facebook. But I will say that: (1) I have generally good faith in his ability to evaluate the quality of a performance; (2) while pretty much any act might get heckled somewhere, and while some acts are always gonna be too far out for any crowd to get (I once saw a crowd at a Devo concert heckling/throwing shit at Suicide), there are also plenty of people out there who do, in fact, suck, and should get off the stage.

Couple of interesting articles for the food geeks: a thoughtful defense of slow food. Yes, I agree that "slow food" isn't a great name but I think we can all agree that SOLE food is even worse. Acronyms? Feh! (and, anyway, even if we all can't agree, 100% of the writers of this blog think it's stupider and I almost always agree with what I think). I'm not all-in and down with every aspect of slow food but in general anything that leads to people being more thoughtful about what and how they're eating is a good thing. I'm not sure how mindlessly shoveling any old thing into your mouth became a conservative value. You'd think that, with its emphasis on preserving traditions, that slow food would be a natural for conservatives.
Coming from a slightly different place, but still geektastic in its own way, is this -- Grant Achatz discussing Bocuse d'Or. Achatz was asked by Thomas Keller to be part of the selection committee that picked the chef who will represent the US in the next competition.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 14 feb 10)

Funky Fraüleins :: various
el Arte de la Elegancia :: los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Agua del Pozo :: Alex Cuba
Retrospectiva :: Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca
Mwanzo :: Sauti Sol
Bollyhood Bass :: David Starfire
Para Siempre :: Miramar
"Que Venga Todo la Gente"/"Le Canto" :: Bio Ritmo
Watina :: Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective
the Prester John Sessions :: Tommy T

this week's video feature: los Fabulosos Cadillacs

So we decided to skip going out for Valentine's Day. Instead we're hanging out at home -- got a fire going, watching ski jumping (and other variety sports from this afternoon's Olympics which we recorded), and making home-made steamed pork buns. Actually we've been working on those on and off since yesterday morning when I started brining the pork belly for the filling. Everything has gone pretty smoothly other than this AM when the Fiesta baking dish exploded in the 450 oven, spilling a mix of water, chicken stock and melted pork fat all over the floor of the oven. That was exciting. At least nothing burst into flames. Sarah got me a new Wüsthof knife (a santoku, which we were lacking) and I got her a new Ella Fitzgerald box set. So, yeah, maybe we know each other a bit at this point.
And for dessert? Peanut butter & bacon truffles from Scratch.

Sitting around fast-forwarding thru Olympics coverage, waiting for the opening ceremonies to actually start. So far it's mostly been an infomercial for Canada. Where, I've learned, it's apparently quite cold. Other things I've learned: Apolo Anton Ohno has a sponsor for his headband; US Olympic team has very cliched knit hats; the landing strip is not a good look for men's facial hair; NBC wins the soul-less bastard award for tonight, repeatedly showing footage of Nodar Kumaritashvili's fatal accident; "We are the World" isn't any less wretched 25 years on; "Halfpipe Girls" just doesn't sound right.

Update 1: Watching this tracking-shot-thru-the-Canadian-Rockies shot, I keep expecting someone to start lighting the beacons of Minas Tirith.
Update 2: Early on, the fashions of the parade of nations are pretty drab. Lots of winter coats and knit hats. I see the Aussies have the name of their country on their coats. Helpful for returning lost athletes, I guess
Update 3: It's Azeri trousers for the win, narrowly edging Bermuda shorts
Update 3.5: Yes, the team from Bermuda is wearing Bermuda shorts
Update 4: Estonians also have the name of the country on their jackets. It's a trend.
Update 5: France has their country name on the back of their jackets. First team that gets their name on their unis in their actual language and not English gets bonus points
Update 6: Meanwhile, Germany's jackets (which are hideous) say "Team". WTF?
Update 7: Nice hats, India
Update 8: Bad pants, Ireland
Update 9: Italians looking very stylish. French, not so much
Update 10: Puffy jackets!
(rest of my blathering behind the cut)

One of the great things about living in ACC country and not having a dog in the college basketball fight is getting to watch the spectator bloodsport when Duke and Carolina fans go at each other. And do not for a minute think that just cos the Tarheels are in the same area code as DFL things have calmed down any much. Over on Facebook this afternoon, a friend's comment on Ol' Roy's latest gaffe (more on that in a minute) erupted into a huge flame war mostly revolving around how much Coach K sucked. Yes, it started with a Heels fan taking Williams to task and ended up in a dogpile on Duke. That's just the way it goes around here.
Good times.
And speaking of the way it goes around here. I gotta give a Colbertian tip o' the hat to Ol' Roy. If you're the defending national champs and having a season that's starting to look scarily Wolfpackish and you've just lost to Duke, how do you avoid all that uncomfortable attention and negative feedback on your team the day after a big loss (and the fourth in a row to boot)? If you said get yrself sorta misquoted kinda maybe comparing a losing basketball season at UNC to the earthquake in Haiti, well, congrats. Here's a hat tip to you too. Ain't nobody talking about those four losses in a row just now. Sheer brilliancy!

If you know me at all, y'all will know that I'm not so keen on the spiritually uplifting tales that touch the heart. But sometimes, a story will get past even my bitter exterior. And seriously, if you've seen a more heart-warming story that involves Lebanon bologna... well, then I'll buy you a pound of Lebanon bologna. I mean, jeez, I'm not made of stone here...
In other food news, we finally got to Panciuto for Sarah's delayed birthday dinner last Saturday. S & D were able to join us and a fine time was had by all. Panciuto really is just on another level compared to any other Italian resto in the area. Sarah and I started with the "arancini" appetizer (made w/ pasta instead of rice, hence the quote marks). Served with a pork bolognese, this was right up there with the arancini at the late, lamented Starlu (still my gold standard for arancini). I still think rice gives a better texture internally. But Panciuto's version had an even better crust on the outside. I had the goat-cheese filled "pope hat" ravioli and Sarah had a duck filled pasta with a finanziera sauce (lots of chicken livers in the sauce). My pasta was made with a spinach dough and was incredible. D. had the ribeye, which came with, among other things, tempura-style spinach leaves which S described as the best spinach ever. There was also a very nice bottle of wine and an apple cake w/ cinnamon ice cream consumed along the way. A wonderful splurge and highly recommended.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 7 feb 10)

Funky Fraüleins :: various
Nasil? Ne Zaman? :: Hardal
Bollyhood Bass :: David Starfire
el Arte de la Elegancia :: los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Para Siempre :: Miramar
Watina :: Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective
Mwanzo :: Sauti Sol
Agua del Pozo :: Alex Cuba
I'll See You in Cuba :: Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla
Nueva America :: Quiero Club

this week's video feature: Quiero Club

Heard an ad today for personal gift advisors to help you with your Valentine's Day shopping. At Walgreens. Okay, so I'm aware that Valentine's Day is one of the more manufactured holidays. Hey, here's the day on which you have to be romantic. That kinda thing. On the other hand, it's not the worst thing in the world to have a holiday that's about telling the people you love that you love them. But (and I'm sorry if this reveals more of my inherent biases than I should in public) if you're using the personal gift advisor at Walgreens for your Valentine's Day shopping, you're doing it wrong.

Interesting interview with David Harrington of Kronos Quartet. He's much more engaged with the questions than you see in a lot of these Q&A sessions. I was particularly interested in the stuff about covers, about the ways in which orchestras playing the classical repetoire could (and could not) be considered cover acts. Esp. interesting because I think the first thing I ever read about Kronos was about their version of "Purple Haze" way back in the 80s. Kronos will be playing at Duke later this year. Not sure what's on the program but I'm definitely looking forward.

On a completely unrelated note: WHO DAT!

I'm still not convinced that the lawsuit seeking to overturn Prop. 8 in CA was the best idea. OTOH, who cares what I think? My rights are not being denied. Anyway, saw a couple of interesting takes on what's been going on so far. Slacktivist argues (pretty convincingly) that what's driving the pro-Prop 8 crowd is an impulse to bully, to throw their majority weight around and deny that there are any such things as rights for minorities. What's that you say? What-stitution? Constitution? Never heard of it.
Meanwhile, Laszlo Thoth looks through the transcripts of Perry v. Schwarzenegger for an answer to the question "how does allowing gays to marry harm straight people?" I must admit that I was somewhat surprised that plaintiff's attorney (that is, the guy arguing in favor of Prop. 8) was unable to answer that question. Seems rather central to their case. You'd think they'd have prepared an answer. I mean, I wasn't expecting a good answer but I was expecting something beyond "Your Honor, my answer is: I don't know."

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 31 jan 10)

el Arte de la Elegancia :: los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Nasil? Ne Zaman? :: Hardal
Bollyhood Bass :: David Starfire
Agua del Pozo :: Alex Cuba
Nueva America :: Quiero Club
the Prester John Sessions :: Tommy T.
Watina :: Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective
Para Siempre :: Miramar
I'll See You in Cuba :: Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla
Mwanzo :: Sauti Sol

this week's video feature: Sauti Sol

Today was the big melting -- sunny for most of the day and up in the 40s. As an aside, one way to tell that you've had a lot of frakkin' snow is when it's day 5 and it's been sunny and in the 40s twice plus rained all of one of the other days and your front yard is mostly still covered in snow. I've enjoyed having snow on the ground. Sure it's starting to get pretty raggedy by now but it's a nice change of pace. But I'll be glad to see it gone just so I can stop hearing people bitch about how badly the city/state/whoever has handled snow removal, street cleaning, school closings, etc. And how snow apparently magically disappears after 2 days up north. Or something. I had a longer rant about this in mind but I think it must have melted today...

I've been trying to keep up with the fracas going on between Macmillan and Amazon. I mean, mostly it's just a couple of big business fighting it out which, right, why should I care. Here's a good overview from Charlie Stross. Also the expected witty and insightful ranting from John Scalzi. I've been thinking about why my sympathies pretty much immediately went to the Macmillan side. I mean, I use Amazon all the time and am generally pretty pleased with the overall experience of shopping there. It wasn't until I read John August's take that things snapped into focus. Amazon's strategy of de-listing all books published by Macmillan in both electronic and print forms is, in fact, a dick move. It's such a dick move, in fact, that it almost renders the merits of their stance moot. I kinda don't care whether the Amazon case has merits because they way they handled it was so classless and petty and just, well, dickish. It's not like I'm gonna start boycotting Amazon but I am planning to spend more time researching my buying options in the future and not just use them as a 1-stop all purpose shopping location.

These messages are brought to you by the spliintered utility pole in my neighborhood: 1) the roads are not as clear as you think they are; 2) you don't drive as well as you think you do.